Collection : Bourbon Stockyard recordsDate/Extent : 1887-1962, 30.3 linear ft.Description : The Bourbon Stockyards, which began at the Bourbon House, a hotel for farmers located between Washington Street and Story Avenue in Louisville, was the oldest continuously operating stockyard in the United States. In 1864 a new facility closer to the railroad was built at Main and Johnson streets. It was incorporated as Bourbon Stock Yard Company in 1875. By the late 1800s it included a modern public market with docks, offices, and other services allowing the company to dominate the Kentucky cattle market for the next century. In the first half of the 20th century the plant was expanded to correspond with the extension of the Louisville cattle market, but by mid-century the market declined due to a change from the railroad to trucking as the major mode of transportation. From the 1960s until the yards closed in 1999, improvements were made to better serve small local farmers. This collection contains the general business records of the company, including general correspondence, reports, publications, legal information, data from cattle shows, and materials related to the American Stockyard Association dating from approximately 1900 through the 1960s.Repository : University Archives